Abstract
The view of men and masculinity currently embedded in popular culture is a decidedly negative one. Approaches to therapy have historically been either gender-neutral or arguably even feminised (e.g. Morison et al. 2014). There is therefore a striking lack of proper scientific evidence relating to the male experience. Dignifying psychotherapy and counselling with men therefore entails researching and understanding how men experience emotions, how they communicate and how they cope. Evidence is presented to show that men can and do take responsibility for their health and well-being when given male-friendly support in doing so. Men also respond positively to health promotion messages that are gender appropriate and empathic.
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Ashfield, J.A., Gouws, D.S. (2019). Dignifying Psychotherapy with Men: Developing Empathic and Evidence-Based Approaches That Suit the Real Needs of the Male Gender. In: Barry, J.A., Kingerlee, R., Seager, M., Sullivan, L. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Male Psychology and Mental Health. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04384-1_30
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